Never Miss a Recipe!

BEST Easy Slow Cooker BBQ Ribs

Learn how to make the BEST easy slow cooker bbq ribs. These incredibly flavorful and tasty baby back ribs are fall-off-the-bone tender.

This is what Summer tastes like. Bbq ribs. When they’re good, really really good, I will take ribs any day of the year, no questions asked. But when it comes down to it I just think they taste better in the Summertime, probably because that’s when my mother always served ribs.

If she was serving ribs it was likely Memorial Day, or my third oldest sister’s birthday, and overly warm and sunny outside. There was a good chance dessert would be homemade berry ice cream. It was always summer when we had ribs.

And always grilled. She’d send Pops or one of my three brothers out back to the extra large grill on the cement patio with a pan of ribs and a bowl of what we called “secret sauce” which was really just a combination of ketchup and brown sugar that makes all things barbecued one hundred and fifteen percent more delicious.

Funny story: the first time I ever tried to cook ribs, I put them on the grill, forgot about them, and bunt them to a crisp. Honestly there was nothing there but bone and char. And I almost cried thinking about the eighteen dollars I’d spent on a rack ribs and wondered how I’d ever tell my husband that instead of ribs we were having stovetop quesadillas for dinner. He didn’t mind of course because he’s him, but oh how I mourned the death of those baby back ribs that night.

Lesson learned. I now put a timer on my phone – or three timers really, you know, just in case – when grilling anything, especially ribs.

We are a few weeks shy of Summer weather around here, but Memorial Day will be here before we know it so I’m sharing with you a foolproof recipe for super tender and flavorful ribs that you cannot go wrong with. (Bonus: there is extremely little risk in burning these ribs to a crisp. Your ribs will not go uneaten.) These are slow cooker ribs. That’s right, ribs made in the crockpot my friends.

The key is to cook them low and slow for about 8 hours, then pop them into the oven for a quick broil – just 5-8 minutes or so – and you’ll have the ultimate, best ever slow cooker bbq ribs. Don’t tell my mother I’m teaching you how to cook ribs any other way than on the grill, but these fall-off-the-bone beauties will become your go-to for every backyard bbq and Summer hangout.

What people are saying about these BEST Easy Slow Cooker BBQ Ribs

“These are seriously the BEST ribs I have ever had – better than any restaurant! My husband and I both loved them, and I will definitely be making them again! Thanks for the recipe!” – Sierra

BEST Easy Slow Cooker BBQ Ribs

Learn how to make the BEST easy slow cooker bbq ribs. These incredibly flavorful and tasty baby back ribs are fall-off-the-bone tender.

Course
Main Course

Cuisine
American

Keyword
bbq, ribs, slow cooker

Prep Time10minutes

Cook Time8hours

Total Time8hours10minutes

Servings6

AuthorTiffany

Ingredients

1rackbaby back pork ribs

2teaspoonschili powder (or chipotle chili powder if you have it)

1teaspoongarlic powder

1/2teaspooncayenne pepper

1/2teaspoonsalt

1/4teaspoonpepper

2cups of your favorite bbq sauce (see note for my favorite tip!)

Instructions

Grease your large slow cooker (6-8 quart) with nonstick spray. Stir together chili powder, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Rub mixture all over the top side of the ribs.

Brush about 2/3 of the bbq sauce over the ribs (reserve remaining bbq sauce), top and bottom. Place the ribs in the slow cooker so that they are standing up on one side and curl to fit into around the inner edge of the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

Preheat your oven to high broil. Use tongs to transfer ribs to a greased baking sheet so that the ribs are laying flat. Transfer to the oven and cook for 5-8 minutes. (Set a timer for 5 minutes and check them to make sure they aren’t burning). Allow to cool just long enough so that the ribs can be handled and serve immediately.

Recipe Notes

My favorite quick and easy way to add depth of flavor to bbq sauces is to combine two different varieties. For these ribs, I like to do one cup of a sweet bbq sauce and one cup of a smoky or spicy bbq sauce – just stir together and use as directed in the recipe.

Comments

Shawnna Griffin

Tiffany

Gillian smal

Annette E

Hi there! I am confused about how the ribs are sitting in the crockpot while cooking. It sounded to me like you were describing them standing up vertically. However the photo looks like they are horizontal? The recipe sounds delicious! And I’m anxious to give it a try!

Tiffany

Hey Annette! Yes so they should be standing up on their sides while they cooke, but afterwards I turned them over just so I could get a good picture of the tops of the ribs 🙂 If your slow cooker is not tall enough to fit your ribs inside while standing on their side, you can fold the rack in half and lay them that way in the slow cooker. 🙂

Tiffany

Dave

“Place the ribs in the slow cooker so that they are standing up on one side and curl to fit into around the inner edge of the slow cooker.”
Standing up one one side? How about an end? into? Neither makes much sense an editor is called for.

REDRocker

Would it be possible for you to add a picture of the ribs in the pot while they are cooking? I think it would HELP us visual PEEPS to have a successful bbq. Great article! Looking forward to making this.